


Honey on a Lion's Mane

by yunyu



Category: Chinese History RPF, Historical RPF, Shin Sangokumusou | Dynasty Warriors, Three Kingdoms History & Adaptations - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Arranged Marriage, Explicit Consent, F/M, First Time, Flirting, Loss of Virginity, Older Man/Younger Woman, Outdoor Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-06-08 05:55:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6841633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yunyu/pseuds/yunyu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She might just have well had said outright “my marriage has not been consummated and I am still a frustrated virgin and this is ALL YOUR FAULT." This may have been what she felt, but she still did not want to admit that...</p><p>Originally I had this tagged "Underage" out of an abundance of caution, but I did some timeline sketching out and discovered that it's absolutely impossible to have her any younger than 18 at marriage and make it work with events as depicted in Clouds and Rain, even with that work's compressed timeline. Even compressing time elapsed from Sun Ce's death to Chibi from 8 years to 3 means she has to be 18 for her fighting for Sun Ce's forces to be even slightly reasonable. (DW8 blithely expects you not to notice/care that her supposed "first battle" with her father in Liang province is 25 years before she marries Liu Bei and 37 years before her intercession at Yiling. Talk about a timeless beauty.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Honey on a Lion's Mane

**Author's Note:**

> Character depictions taken from Dynasty Warriors 8 (eg I am using "flawed but sweet DW Liu Bei" not the much less attractive/heroic guy from history and ROTK), major exceptions: I'm going for a more "traditional" arranged marriage; my interpretation of Liu Shan is more inspired by history/ROTK.
> 
> Title comes from the song "Honey" by Venus Hum, which is one of the sexiest songs I know and inspired me to write this.

On the morning of her wedding, Sun Shangxiang gathered her cadre of armed maidens together. Many of them were crying, whether from traditional wedding joy or apprehension at the fact that they too would, early the next morning, leave the Southlands, possibly never to return.

“Tonight, my lady,” said Zhou Xinyi, who would become her new lieutenant, since Lianshi was remaining behind, “What would you like us to do?”

Lady Sun was not at all sure about what _she_ would like to do that night. If there was anything she hated, though, it was looking like a nervous child, so she said boldly, folding her arms, “Why, the same thing as always. I don’t see why being married should change my habits.”

The ladies exchanged glances. A few giggled.

Xinyi, who liked to have things hammered out, said, “The same except we’ll actually be allowing a man into your chambers, you mean.”

“If he isn’t able to fight his way past the rest of you, I’m sure he won’t be able to handle _me,_ ” said the daughter of the tiger. This time there were quite a few more giggles.

———

That night, Liu Bei was attempting to avoid getting sloshed with Zhang Fei’s exuberant swinging of his cup during yet another toast, when he suddenly realized that his new bride was no longer there. He looked around the room, to see if she was visiting another table, but she wasn’t anywhere. When exactly had he last seen her?

“Brother! You aren’t drinking!” Zhang Fei smacked Liu Bei on the back, causing him to spill his own wine on himself. “Oops.”

“Brother,” said Guan Yu to Zhang Fei with an indulgent smile, “You should not be pushing our brother to drink himself to intoxication.”

“Oh yeah! Can’t have him passing out tonight, eh?” he guffawed. “Not with that little beauty… say, where is she?”

“My lords,” came a low and sweet female voice. The three men turned to see the beautiful Lianshi. “My lady felt tired, and I believe she wanted to rest early since you leave so early tomorrow. So she has gone to her chambers. And may I say again, my lord, congratulations. _Yong jie tong xin, bai nian hao he._ [May you always be of the same heart, and may you be in good accord for a hundred years.]”

Liu Bei stood up, bowing respectfully as he did so. “Thank you, my lady.”

“My lords.” She smiled beatifically, then departed off to another table.

“What? Leaving so soon?” Zhang Fei said, but he was speaking to Liu Bei, who was putting on his cloak.

“I need to change out of this wine-stained thing.”

“Eh? Aw, just blow the candles out. She won’t care! It’s not like it’ll stay on for long anyway!”

“Brother, you have no sense of romance,” said Guan Yu, his magnificent beard shaking from side to side in sad disappointment.

“Well, I can tell you I’ve never heard a word of complaint from Madam Zhang,” he growled.

“That wouldn’t be because you’re usually unconscious by that point, would it?” said Pang Tong, suddenly reminding the others of his presence.

“Hey… hey!” sputtered Zhang Fei, trying to think of a comeback.

With the attention on his sworn brother, Liu Bei was actually able to slip out without further comment on himself.

———

Lady Sun was not getting any rest in her room. She had taken off the bulky, uncomfortable bridal gown as soon as she got there, dressing in her usual nightgown. Perhaps it was inauspicious not to let the groom undress his bride, but she didn’t care. She definitely didn’t care! She wasn’t sure why her heart was pounding so hard in her chest. Probably it was because she had been forced into a few too many toasts before she managed, with the help of Lianshi, to slip out.

Definitely not because she cared.

Or was afraid either.

“Halt! Identify yourself or die where you stand!” cried one of her warrior women.

She ran up to her secret panel where she could view the main entrance to her rooms. Liu Bei was there. He wasn’t dressed in his groom’s clothes either, but was dressed in his usual style. She had to admit, he looked better that way.

“I am Liu Bei, and I am here to see my wife,” he said, striding forward confidently.

An arrow embedded itself where his foot would have taken its next step. “Don’t come any closer!” 

“Our lady is not to be disturbed by anyone.”

“You must leave!”

Another arrow hit the floor a few inches from the first.

Shangxiang could see Liu Bei’s face getting red, but whether that was from anger, embarrassment or a combination of the two was unclear.

“I understand. She needs her rest before the journey. Tell your lady that I will see her in Shu.” Without another word, he left.

Shangxiang could feel her heartbeat slowing down to normal, but her own face was getting a bit red. Really? He wasn’t even willing to put up an ounce of a fight to get to her? So much for the great warrior husband she had been promised!

She huffed as she crawled into bed, resisting the urge to vent this inexplicable frustration upon a pillow. It must just be the wine playing tricks with her mind again.

———

He had not bothered to make any attempt to consummate the relationship in any of the inns or camps they had made on the way back to the Shu capital, perhaps modest about the thin walls and nearby ears in such situations.

It was a matter of great mutual disappointment (although Liu Bei did not realize this at the time) when their first night in Shu was a near verbatim repeat of the wedding night.

He showed some persistence in trying again every night that week, and some part of Shangxiang hoped that frustration at a thwarted will, if nothing else, would drive him to take greater action.

During the day, neither of them made any mention of these nightly failed raids. He was gentlemanly to a fault, not taking any more liberties with her body than an occasional light touch to her back or shoulder when wishing to draw her attention to something as he gave her tours of the palace and the nearby grounds.

She could tell he was nervous about introducing her to his son and heir, which she had thought was just the normal nervousness of introducing a stepmother to a stepchild—especially when the stepmother was only five years older than her stepson. But within a few minutes of meeting him, she could tell that there was more to it. There was something not quite right about the boy. After the introduction, she had made some mild joke, hoping to break the ice, but the boy had simply stared at her. His gaze was vacant, yet pleasant; friendly, but somehow a bit unsettling at the same time. She was able to gain his interest in some simple finger rhymes that in Wu were used for the amusement of toddlers—not boys of twelve. His wholehearted delight charmed her.

“I’m sorry,” he had said as they left. “I should have said something to prepare you… I just couldn’t think of the words…”

“It’s nothing. He is a dear, sweet boy.”

She smiled at him, but he was staring at the ground. Why was he so ashamed? Was he afraid she would continue to reject him, lest he father an idiot on her as well?

“It truly is nothing to me, my lord. No one knows why these things happen. No one is at fault—“

He had made a noise of utter disgust and walked away, not even seeing that she was reaching out her hand to him.

He didn’t attempt to visit her that night. The next day, some intelligence was received that required Liu Bei to ride out immediately. He was gone before she could even make a plea to come along.

———

One battle became another. She supposed so, at least; she was kept totally in the dark about what was going on. Not just with regard to actual valuable intelligence, but even to the point of what province he was in, or similar things that surely Wei and Wu would have been well aware of. Where was he? With his troops. How was he? Fine. When would he be home? Soon.

Shangxiang threw her frustrations into sparring with her maids five or six at a time. She could have taken the whole squad on at once of course. While they were highly trained and disciplined and she would backed them against any ordinary soldier, not one of them had the talent for something higher, as Lianshi had (though her friend unfortunately lacked the passion for battle necessary to truly reach her potential). Moreover, she could curse and taunt them until she was blue in the face; she could sit them down reasonably and get them to admit they probably didn’t have a chance of even touching her, let alone injuring her; all of that didn’t matter. They could not help but hold back. It made the sparring little more exciting than fighting actual dummies. The only improvement was that her maids at least attempted to duck.

Her other outlet was riding her horse and exploring the lands around the palace. Unlike her maids, her horse still gave it her all every time. The mountainous terrain of Shu was totally unlike the lush and dense Southlands, but she could appreciate its own particular beauty. She set herself the challenge of finding naturally difficult terrain, coaxing her horse into jumping over fallen logs and fording streams.

She also spent some time every day with her stepson, A-dou. Without even asking if he could, he immediately called her Mama. She wondered at the Shu, that they were so jealous of information that didn’t even matter, yet seemed more than willing to let her gain such a profound influence over their lord’s heir. Perhaps it was that no one really paid attention to the boy and what he was doing at all. Even the other children did not want him to join in their games; he was too slow, and he cried at all hurts, real and imagined, even ones to other people.

He enjoyed learning simple, repetitive tasks with her, such as beading. When she produced paper, paint and brushes, he shrank away in fear, and she gathered that they had attempted to teach him writing in the traditional harsh, impatient way. She was able to coax him out of his panic and demonstrate some simple, abstract shapes: a line, a circle, a swirl. After several weeks of this gentle introduction to the brush, she was able to teach him to make and understand that he had made his first character, the number one. Sure, it was only one line, but she went back to her rooms that day as proud as if she had given birth to him herself.

Two months. Four months. Six months.

The secret letters she received from her brother Sun Quan were another challenge, though one she quickly came to dread rather than relish. His letters presumed a degree of intimacy with both the leader of Shu’s plans and his person that was almost a cruel taunt to someone who did not even know where he was. She several times had to rip up a letter where she begged him to tell her what was going on, because no one in Shu told her anything. However, she could not bring herself to humiliate herself even to that extent, let alone think of pleading for him to annul this non-marriage and bring her home where she belonged. Instead the letters she sent in return were a skillful mix of half-truths and diplomatic non-answers and hedges. She thought bitterly that her etiquette and decorum tutor would have wept for joy could she have seen this day.

The one exception was a letter that sent her into a blind rage, in which he was actually crude enough to suggest that she bring up a certain matter to her husband after sex, under the euphemism “late at night”. Still in the rage, she had furiously penned a reply. She did _not_ see her husband late at night; in fact, “let me be perfectly clear brother, I do not see him late at night _at any time of the day_ ”. She had sent the letter off immediately, which she regretted as soon as she cooled off. The rhetorical flourish had felt so good to write, but she might just have well had said outright “my marriage has not been consummated and I am still a frustrated virgin and this is _all your fault_ ”. This may have been what she felt, but she still did not want to admit that to him, especially because Quan rarely got satisfyingly angry with her, the way that Ce had. He was much more likely to go into a funk and beat himself up worse than she ever would have.

It was around the six month mark that she discovered a hot spring, way up in a secluded grotto area, only accessible after an extended trip over very difficult terrain, much too difficult for the average horse and rider, and too far a journey from the road to be practically accessible by foot either. She wondered if it might be possible that hers were the first human eyes to see it. Cautiously she dipped her chakram into it and then felt the temperature of the metal. It was perhaps slightly on the hot side for a long soak, but certainly it would work for a short one.

She thought of stripping down and taking one right there, but she had brought nothing to dry herself afterwards, and the day was too cold and cloudy to air dry her comfortably.

However, she was back the next day, prepared with not only a towel to dry herself but a blanket to sit on and a snack.

The sensation of sinking beneath the warm water, the sharp scent of the minerals and the nearby pines, and the dull roar of the flow of the spring combined for an effect that was blissfully hypnotic. For perhaps her first time in Shu, she felt herself completely relaxing in both body and mind.

It was so wonderful that she stayed in perhaps a bit too long, because she was lightheaded when she climbed out. She was glad she had thought to provide herself with a snack, and mentally noted to bring a larger canteen next time.

———

A few weeks after her initial discovery of the spring, Liu Bei and his advanced retinue made it back to the palace in Chengdu, where a small group gathered to welcome them. They could see each other waving from a long way off. When Zhang Fei and Guan Yu saw their wives and children, they spurred their tired horses into a final sprint, but Liu Bei continued at a walking pace. He was frowning.

A servant ran out to meet them still mounted, anxious to receive any special commands, such as the preparation of a welcoming banquet.

“Where is my wife?”

“She went to the stables about ten minutes ago, my lord.”

“To the stables?” He flushed with embarrassment and anger. “Did no one tell her I was coming?”

The question was meant to be rhetorical, but before Zhuge Liang, riding next to him, could catch the servant’s eye, the servant replied with simple pride, “No my lord, no one told her a thing.”

While Liu Bei puzzled over that, Zhuge Liang caught the servant’s eye. Serenely, he said “Go and start the preparations for our welcoming banquet.” The serenity of the voice was in frightening contrast to the murderous look upon his face. The servant scampered away immediately.

“Hey,” protested Liu Bei, but not loudly enough to be heard, at least beyond the level of plausible deniability for the terrified servant. “I’m going to the stables to see for myself,” he said to Zhuge Liang, and rode off.

Now it was Zhuge Liang who was frowning.

———

“Oh my lord, you’ve just missed our lady. She’ll be that sorry she wasn’t there to receive you, I’m sure! Why, she asked about you nearly every day those first few weeks. Always looked so sad, bless her.”

This was additional puzzlement—why would his wife need to ask a stablehand, of all people, about him?—but if she had truly just left, he might be able to catch up with her. “Which way did she go?”

“Said didn’t it look like a fine day today, and I said it did to be sure, and she said in that case she’ll go north. Didn’t rightly know what she meant, my lord, but she said it very kindly. She is a lady that always does speak to one kindly, if I may—hey!“

There was no one left to say whether he may or not, because Liu Bei had begun to ride away. He chased after the horse shouting, “My lord, you’ll never catch her on that poor tired beast!”

Liu Bei heard, but didn’t bother to answer. Hexmark had always gotten him just where he needed to be in the past.

———

Perhaps it was fate that on this day Shangxiang was not setting her usual breakneck pace on the road. She was enjoying the scent of the land. It had rained overnight and her horse left clear marks in the road.

Liu Bei could tell from the tracks that the horse was not going very fast. With a little encouragement, Hexmark began moving at about the same speed, or a little faster.

He cursed himself for not forcing the horse into a run when he reached a point where her tracks abruptly left the road. He was about to turn back, when he noticed the same thing that had originally attracted her—a ditch, exactly of the dimensions that would goad any experienced jumper into giving it a go. Hexmark, who had known himself to have been within moments of a rubdown and a manger back in the stables, did not at all want to go, but his long relationship with his rider enabled Liu Bei to coax him into a run that would clear it.

From there, he simply continued along a path that was for him as clearly marked as any set of hoofprints—a series of ridership challenges. Fortunately, the majority of them were tests of the ability of the rider to control his horse, rather than tests of the quality of the horse. Even in his tired state, Hexmark could easily navigate them all with Liu Bei at the reins.

Then he got to a point where there did not seem to be any obvious further challenge. He stopped for a minute, trying to think of what would have attracted her from here, when he realized he was hearing the sound of running water.

He dismounted Hexmark and tied him to a tree, rewarding him with an apple from his saddlebag, then quietly picked his way towards the sound of the water.

He saw a mare tied to a tree a little further on. She had also been given a snack, and merely watched him placidly as he approached.

“You’re a docile one, aren’t you?” he said, giving her neck a quick rub. “Not like your mistress.”

He continued on.

———

When he reached the springs, it was by coming to the top of a small ridge, so he was suddenly confronted with the whole scene.

The first thing he saw was her. It was difficult for him to force his eyes away to take in the other details of the scene, given that the woman that he saw was floating naked, eyes closed, sheer bliss on her face. The movement of the water may have obscured exact details of what was beneath its surface, but the overall effect was magnificent.

He could see a blanket spread over a small grassy area, an area she must have picked as it was in the full sun and probably had the only dry ground. Atop the blanket was a lunch, a large folded towel, and her clothes.

He looked back towards her, and saw that she had placed her chakrams, bow, and quiver on the bank, within arms’ reach of her. He had to smile at a woman who, when bathing naked, thought a weapon a more important thing to be able to grab immediately than a towel. And she was probably right.

However, it did complicate matters a bit for him. If she decided to shoot first and ask questions later… he accepted the risk of dying in battle, but to be shot to death by one’s wife at a hot spring was surely an ignominious end.

As he cautiously picked his way down the slope, he was therefore very careful not to make too much noise. Fortunately for him, with her ears submerged in the water and her eyes closed, in her own personal nirvana, she was completely unaware of him. Even when he was standing right beside her.

Very slowly, he reached down, picked up the weapons, and took them back to the blanket, and then, after another thought, dropped his cloak over them. If she got enraged by his appearance, he wanted as long as possible to calm her down before she armed herself.

He then walked back over to the edge and looked down at her face… well, at least he was looking at her face some of the time. He was trying to think of exactly how to announce his presence.

Before he could do so, she happened to flutter her eyes for a moment, and saw him. Immediately her eyes widened.

“Hello,” he said.

She shrieked and backed away from the edge of the spring, her hands springing up to cover her breasts. The water was deeper than he would have thought, coming up nearly to her shoulders. He felt pleased somehow that with him, at least, her first instinct was to cover her nakedness rather than take up her weapons.

———

“Lord Liu Bei!” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“We got home today, but apparently it was just minutes after you left on your ride. So I rode after you. I just wanted to talk with you, but…” and his grin took on an embarrassed quality that made him look quite boyish, “I can’t say I didn’t like what I saw.”

A dozen different possible reactions flitted through Shangxiang’s mind as he spoke. Rage, of course, was a very tempting response, although a quick glance told her that he had prudently moved her weapons somewhere. Attempting to find them while naked… dressing in front of him and then attempting to find them… no. Clearly none of those humiliating options would work.

She decided that her best move was to play it off cool. She shrugged. “Alright, my lord. I admit I was startled, but I suppose since you’re my husband, I can’t complain.” She then deliberately pulled her arms away from her chest, walked back to her previous spot, and resumed her previous position, eyes closed, although her expression now could be more accurately described as defiant than blissful.

There was silence for a moment. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Suit yourself.”

She kept her eyes closed, until she felt and heard the splash as he dropped down into the water next to her.

After about half a minute, she could no longer resist the temptation to open her eyes. He had waded out a bit into the deeper section where she had stood to talk to him. For him of course it only came up to his mid-torso. He had his back to her. Even from the back she could tell he had the body, as well as the face, of a much younger man, despite a few interesting scars here and there. She was surprised to see how beautiful his hair was out of its bun. A dragon might have been the symbol of Shu, but his freed hair reminded her of the mane of a horse or even a lion. Unknowingly, her thoughts repeated the same ones he had had about her: _magnificent._

He took a breath and dipped his entire body into the spring, then took another, slower breath when he had reemerged. She guessed that he too was enjoying the spring’s heady scent. “This place is wonderful,” he said. “I never knew that such a spring existed such a short distance away from the palace. After a long period of fighting, this is exactly what I needed.”

He turned around, and she didn’t bother to continue pretending that she didn’t care that he was there. He saw her looking at him, and smiled gently. “Lady Sun, I know that you were not really consulted on this marriage, but I have to admit, I did think at that time that you liked me at least a little bit.”

She hoped her cheeks were already flushed enough from the heat as she answered airily, “Oh! Well, my lord, I admit you’re quite handsome, especially for your _age._ But you know, I’ve met so many handsome generals through my father and brothers, that if my head was turned by every handsome general, it would never stop spinning.”

She had hoped that this quelling reply would sufficiently humble him into dropping this dangerous subject, since she knew he was a man of pride. But instead his smile even widened a little, as if he thought she was flirting.

“I guess I can see how I might not stand out among so many others,” he said, and he was slowly wading back towards her. Her heart started to thump, and she didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed when he stopped just next to her floating legs.

“As for me,” he continued, “I can tell you that you’re like no woman I’ve ever met.”

She did not know how to reply to that. She suddenly felt dizzy, and abruptly stood up. This was a bad idea, as the sudden change in position exacerbated the dizziness, and she actually swayed a little, as if she might faint.

He caught her, though she had been at no actual risk of fainting or even losing her balance. If she had actually been flirting, she later thought, it would have been an excellent move. His face was one of concern rather than lust however. “Lady Sun, are you alright?”

There was no way to play this one off cool, especially when her body was still treasonously responding to his nearness. “I will be alright in just a minute,” she said, and hated how weak her voice sounded to her own ears. She hated anything about being weak. “It’s just the heat. I just need to get out.” _Just, just, just. I’m even speaking stupidly._

He actually lifted her bodily out of the water before she was quite aware what was happening. As she took a minute for her head to clear, she noticed that he was not at all bothering to conceal his admiration of her body. She decided to call him on it.

“I notice you don’t even attempt to avert your eyes, my lord,” she challenged. “I thought you had a reputation as a gentleman.”

“But you are my wife.”

It was said so sincerely, yet so simply, that it completely robbed her of the really good follow-up she had planned. Unable at all to recall it, she simply plunged on, saying the first things that came to her mind. “You must have seen as many naked women as I have seen handsome generals, my lord. Tell me, have you ever seen a body like mine?”

———

The way she alternated from saucy remarks of a degree he had only heard from madams in brothels to nervous, flushed innocence intoxicated him. When he said he had never met another woman like her, it had been the simple truth, and so was what he said next: “No, I have never seen a body like yours, my lady.”

He reached out a hand, very slowly, giving her time to back away, but she didn’t move. He ran a hand along her leg, starting at the slender ankle and moving up over the toned, smooth muscle. “So strong, and yet so feminine.”

He stopped his hand at the top of her thigh, and she gave a little exhale. Relief? Disappointment? “Should I keep going, my lady?”

“Suit yourself,” she whispered.

He looked at her face, and he could see that while she wanted him, she was also frightened. Knowing her pride in her self-sufficiency, it was probably more a fear of her own desire than the stereotypical womanly fear of pain. A woman like her wouldn’t fear the pain.

To give her a chance to come to terms with her own feelings, as much as anything, he took his time climbing out of the spring.

“So are we…” her voice was a bit jagged, and she paused to swallow. “Are we going to do it right here?”

“For my part, my lady, I would be more than willing, but if you would feel more comfortable waiting until we get back to our home, I will wait for you. Provided that you don’t run hiding behind your hundred armed maidens again.”

That fired her up a bit. “I couldn’t believe that you never tried to fight past them even once!” she exclaimed.

“There are some men, maybe even many men, who don’t give a damn whether a woman actually reciprocates their desires, Lady Sun, but I can tell you that I am not one of them.”

She stared at the ground and muttered something.

“What?”

She hesitated, but repeated herself more clearly, “I said, ‘Maybe even a woman like me wants to feel like someone wants to fight for her once in a while.’”

“My lady,” and he came close to her and took her hands in his, “if you were ever taken from me against your will, know that I would fight through any force in order to reach you. But if of your own will you were to put up even a piece of paper as a shield against me, I would retreat. That is the kind of pride I have.”

“I guess it’s a good kind of pride,” she said, “but… don’t think that I plan on getting kidnapped so that you can stoke it.”

He laughed, and tousled her short, damp, locks; then his hand stilled, cradling her chin.

She did not close her eyes as he leaned forward and kissed her.

———

“Sweetheart, you can take on anyone you like,” her father had once told her. “Hell, take ‘em all on at once! But there’s one enemy you can’t beat, and that’s yourself. There’s no man alive—ok, woman alive, whatever—who can really defeat herself; sooner or later it’s either a negotiation or a surrender. If it’s yourself, it’s ok to surrender sometimes.”

Thinking of her father while having her first kiss ought to have made her gag, and while it did perhaps splash a bit of cool water on her ardour, that ardour still ought to have been grateful to him, because it was these remembered words that allowed Shangxiang to do the one thing she had never done, the thing that was far scarier than having sex: surrendering.

She lost herself in her passion. Although she loved to tease men, she had no first hand experience of any kind, not so much as a stolen kiss behind a tree with an alluring stablehand. Her mother had given her advice before the wedding, but that advice was basically to let him do it as much as he wanted, think of something else, and wait for it to be over. Lord Liu Bei, she knew, widowed twice and with heaven knew how many other notches in his belt, had plenty of experience; she hoped it was not the kind of experience that her mother seemed to think was normal in sex.

“As much as I hate to pause this, I think we will sooner or later want to move to the blanket.”

“Ah, now we see the benefit of the man’s greater experience for his humble lady,” teased Shangxiang. “‘Move to the blanket’… genius, my lord. How do you do it?”

“You are a minx,” he said, and scooped her up in his arms.

He laid her tenderly upon the blanket, then turned to his clothes. She was confused for a moment until she realized he was getting something to tie his hair out of his face. As she waited, heart pounding, she realized that her… she didn’t even have the words… womanly area was feeling extremely wet. She had gotten a bit wet like that before, when spying on things like her father’s men training stripped down bare to the waist, but not like this. Curious, she stole a hand down there to see what it was like.

———

Just as he was finishing tying his hair, he heard a tiny gasp. He turned and saw that she was touching herself gingerly, with an expression of flushed, surprised pleasure. “What are you doing?”

His tone was curious, not accusatory, but she still yanked her hand away with a start. “Nothing. I was just curious.”

“It is your body, after all. Have you ever felt yourself like that before?”

She shook her head.

He took her hand and guided it back with his own. Her hips bucked a little and she gasped again. “Ah… my lord… that feels good… but why..?”

He let go of her hand and straddled her, but did not enter her yet. “Your body wants me,” he said simply. “The moisture is your _yin_ preparing for me, so that when I enter you it will be smooth and hurt less.”

“Smart body,” she breathed, but it sounded more frightened than sassy.

He lowered himself down slowly, stopping just when the tip of him touched her, and kissed her. She did not return the kiss; he could feel her breaths coming faster. Her fear seemed to be worsening, not abating. His own desire was starting to shake the limits of his self-control and reason.

“Shangxiang,” he said, “I want to make this enjoyable for you, but I don’t know how to reassure you. What is frightening you so much?”

“Myself,” she said. “I want you so much that it frightens me. I think I might die.”

He wanted to laugh, but she looked so serious that he managed to restrain himself. “Poetry aside, I don’t think anyone has ever died of lust,” he said.

“No, I mean… I mean if I make myself vulnerable and give a part of myself… no, all of myself… to you… then I don’t really own myself anymore. And… if something were to happen to you…”

Through the fog of his own lust, Liu Bei could not respond to this elegantly. He merely kissed her again.

———

The kisses became more and more passionate. Shangxiang felt the force of her immediate desire sweeping away all other thoughts. That he was so near her, without actually being inside her, began to become almost painful in her longing for its resolution, like an itch on her back when she was wearing armor.

“The first battle always seems the scariest… right?” she managed to gasp. “I think… I think we had just better get it started.”

He did not wait for any further invitation. She felt his hand reach between them briefly to guide him, and then he was inside her.

———

He had never met a woman like her, he had never seen a body like hers, and now he knew he had never been with a woman like her, either.

She had let out a loud, ecstatic moan when he first entered her, and as he began to thrust, her vocalizations only increased in enthusiasm and volume. Although he was on top of her, the experienced one, the one who was supposed to be introducing her to sexual pleasure, he felt more like he had succeeded in mounting a wild horse, but now it was taking off with him.

The sensations of her walls were absolutely incredible. It went beyond mere stereotypical virginal tightness. That, he suspected, was caused more by nervousness than anything magical. It was like she was as toned and muscular inside as she was in her legs and arms. He had only been thrusting for a few minutes, and already he had to close his eyes and try to think of other things to keep from exploding inside her. He could tell by the way she was encouraging him to go harder and faster that she had by no means peaked. He only hoped he could hang on until she got there.

———

There was no thought, there was no time. There was only this feeling, and this man, his eyes closed, his lips parted, hair escaping from the tie and framing his face. The most gorgeous picture she had ever seen.

Despite having just dipped into the pool, his exertion, and the heat of the day, had already made him break out into a sweat, but it was a clean sweat, with a musky, tantalizing sweetness that blended with the pine and the steam from the pool intoxicatingly. She could not get enough of his scent. She felt like she could drink it.

She knew from the banter with her fellow officers back in Wu that women could and did enjoy sex, but she had never expected that it could be _this_ enjoyable. She had always enjoyed making fun of her more sex-crazed friends for the way the prospect of getting some turned them into morons, but if it felt anything like this for them, she totally got it now. Right now, in this moment, it was difficult to understand why humans ever did anything else.

Then it began to get even better.

———

She had been mostly alternating between wordless moans and commands to go faster and deeper up until this point, but he knew something was about to change when she said “My lord.”

She repeated it. “My lord… oh… _my lord_!”

This was it. He opened his eyes and drank her in as she came. Within seconds, he was right there with her.

———

As they lay together, rationality gradually returning, it occurred to Shangxiang that she hadn’t heard Liu Bei say a single word. He had just taken her up to a peak she didn’t know was possible, and then shortly after she crested, stopped and pulled off. On his face she had only seen intense concentration, not the mindblowing release she had felt. Wasn’t it supposed to be enjoyable for him too?

“Did you…” she said uncertainly, “Did you like that too?”

He was laying on his back beside her. His face, which turned to hers, looked exhausted and puzzled. “Isn’t it obvious?”

 _If it was obvious would I have asked?_ Aloud she said, “You were completely silent.”

He laughed a little. “I’m not the noisy type during sex, I suppose.”

“I guess I make enough noise for two people,” she said, a bit guiltily, glad their first time had been out in the middle of nowhere.

“You make enough noise for ten people,” he said. “Could you really not tell I was enjoying it?”

He took her hand and guided it back down. This time, she did not merely feel slippery wetness, but something thicker was leaking from her. She looked down and saw that it was white and opaque.

“Do you know what it is?” he said.

“Semen?”

He was startled, then he laughed, really hard. “Who taught you that?”

“It was in an anatomy book I was studying to try to understand what makes wounds fatal or not,” she said. “I don’t think dad remembered that section was in there… back then I thought it was a waste of time, because it didn’t have female bodies in there at all.”

“It’s a little bit, uh, medical, but I can’t say it isn’t accurate,” he said. “Anyway, it means I really, really enjoyed myself. Trust me.”

He gathered her onto his chest, and she enjoyed laying there for a moment, feeling the steady beat of his heart and the slow rise and fall of his breathing. However, sex was not the only bodily desire. “I’m getting hungry.”

“God, so am I,” he said. They both sat up.

They shared Shangxiang’s lunch. It wasn’t enough for two, but it took the edge off.

Then there was the business of getting redressed. Clothing was not really a problem; they had both folded their clothes neatly when taking them off, so that part looked fine. The problem was Liu Bei’s hair. Shangxiang’s hair was short and wild enough that it was basically already dry and looked fine with just a bit of finger-brushing. Liu Bei’s hair on the other hand was long and thick. It was definitely still wet, and toweling it didn’t help much. Moreover, Shangxiang ddn’t have a comb, and Liu Bei didn’t keep one in his saddlebags, so putting it neatly back into its bun was a real challenge.

They eventually decided to dampen it a little more to aid Shangxiang in finger-combing it into place and hope that claims of a brisk ride back would excuse any uncharacteristic mussiness.

———

The welcome meal was over and Liu Bei still had not come back. Zhuge Liang frowned, flipped his fan back and forth a few times as if one side or the other might be hiding an answer on it, and then walked to the stables.

Luck favoured him, His lord and his lord’s wife were just riding in. Hexmark looked exhausted, and his rider pretty well as bad, yet somehow renewed in a way that made the master strategist very suspicious. His eyes narrowed as he observed his lord’s hair. He then glanced at Lady Sun. She looked absolutely the same as always.

“How was your ride, my lord? I see you found your wife.”

Lady Sun answered him instead as she hopped nimbly down from her horse. “Oh, he certainly rode me down today! I couldn’t help but be caught by such a rider.” She passed the mare to a stablehand. “I must have my lord ride with me daily now that he’s come home. I believe there is so much he can teach me.”

“My lady, I would like that very much.”

The crane fan fluttered testily. “You’ve missed your welcome banquet, my lord.”

Again, the wife answered him rather than the husband. The nerve of this woman! “He preferred to eat with me, I think, Master Zhuge. But alas, no one told me my husband was coming back today, so we had to share lunch for one! What an unfortunate situation. I shall have to see if I can get anyone to tell me where I can get something more to eat, or if that is classified as well.” To her lord, she made a pretty little bow. “I will see you at dinner, I hope, my lord.”

“Certainly, my lady.”

Zhuge Liang bowed as she passed. After battle, enemy soldiers often told wild tales of how Zhuge Liang shot energy beams of certain death from his horrible eyes. If such stories were true, his gaze certainly should have obliterated Lady Sun. After she had gone, he said “Will you walk with me, my lord?”

‘I am very tired,” said Liu Bei, and yawned. To a servant, he said “Have some meat buns or another equally quick snack sent to my rooms. I wish to rest.” Back to Zhuge Liang, he said, “I could not attend to you now. I will—“ yawn—“rest for a while… and we can talk later.”

“My lord.”

The fan flipped back and forth again. Why had the Wu warrior princess, after so emphatic a rejection at the beginning of their marriage, suddenly accepted her husband? Was it merely a spiteful attempt to do a run around his efficient blockade of her? Or had she somehow received orders from Wu to change her tactics? The idea that she might have had or developed any sincere affection for her husband did not even occur to his mind; a mind of undeniable brilliance, but whose failures often came from difficulty understanding or anticipating certain kinds of emotion and emotional change.

Zhuge Liang stalked away from the stables, determined to redouble all efforts to determine if she was receiving secret letters from her brother. He would show _her_ what happened to those who thought they could taunt him to his face. His lord would be saved. Just wait and see.

**Author's Note:**

> Haha I'm a bit of a fucker ending it with Zhuge Liang plotting into his fan, but this is actually a prequel to Clouds & Rain. If it makes you feel better I love my Liu Bei and Lady Sun way too much to give them an unhappy ending. Just trust.
> 
> Liu Bei didn't get Chengdu until AFTER the conquest of Hanzhong but we'll ignore that for the time being. Maybe they're just the guests of the unaccountably absent Liu Zhang?


End file.
